Sometimes mental illness is pathetic. See pedophiles and, conservatives would say, homosexuals.

I would like to see an experiment:

Send a bulimic/anorexic to an island where there is plenty of fresh water, but absolutely no food...not even insects. Nothing to eat at all. Turn a TV camera on them and see what happens. Are they overjoyed at the fact that there is no food, even though it means they are doomed? As they starve to death, do they become more and more ecstatic? Are they at their happiest seconds before they die? Or do they forget about their precious "figure" when they realize that eating is no longer an option, and that they are, without a doubt, going to die?





My second experiment involves what a person with Terrett's Syndrome says if he/she grows up without ever hearing profanity of any kind, but that's for another thread.

Seeing as many of the manifestations of Tourettes are chirps, squeaks, yelps, as well as jerky hand, leg, and head movements, I'd guess your experiment would yield little new info.
Sufferers describe the affliction as an itch on the brain that can only be scratched by acting out.

not the ones I knew

I've always wondered about that disorder. How often do you think you've just flat out blown a fuse and it felt great? It's happened to me on several occasions and I wonder if that's how people with Tourette's feel when they have an episode. That they are just letting it out and it feels good to do it. I wonder how fine a line there is between having a disorder and having an anger "problem".

It wouldn't matter if there was ample water and/or no food.

It would only matter if there's other people.

No other people = no social anxiety = no bulemia

I don't know. I don't buy that. I can't really get into the head of a bulimic but from what I understand it is more about self image and less about what others might think. Otherwise it could be easily cured with positive verbal feedback.

I heard what really happend was she was throwing up drunk and on a whole bunch of shrooms a friend saw her and she played it off as if she had "The Buliemia" to be cool and hip......

Why does one develop a self image? Without social pressure, there's nothing to compare one's self to...

eating disorders are about control.

the people feel that they cannot control anything in their lives, but they can control what they eat.

Great point. Its common in situations of abuse, or neglect or other sorts.

It runs on the same principle of an abusive husband getting yelled at at work, and coming home to take it out on his wife. Same principle, different style.

Moooo

Very true. Particularly with anorexia.

From what I understand it's all about what they see in the mirror. It has more to do with what they perceive as their own body image, even though this view is influenced by what they see in various media. It comes down to a person standing naked in the bathroom and feeling disgusted by what they see of themselves. That happens even with no one else around.

I think what he's saying is without magazines and stuff to compare yourself too, you wouldn't have any reason to think anything you look like is ugly...

I argue that many times such issues are caused by a chemical imbalance which manifest theirselves in other ways. For example, if it wasn't one part of her body image it would be another... If the chemicals are out of whack, a lot of times the thoughts are just justification...

Moooo

Anorexia and bulemia are strongly related to other obsessive disorders like OCD. So in some way you're correct, it it doesn't manifest itself in this way it will likely manifest itself in another.

I understand you're point about other people's standards contributing to the eating disorders. I think they do. But as you point out here, it's a mental disorder. It would continue even without outside stimulus.